Our Association remains as relevant and agile as ever for the Department of Defense, the Department of State, other US government agencies, and for all the companies who work in the stability and contingency operations industries. Today, the ISOA Chairman of the Board, Gerald Goss, and myself conducted our periodic meeting with OSD officials, Gary Motsek and Chris Mayer, who oversee all contracted worked in contingency environments. Our discussion points are summarized as follows:

- The military build-up by this administration is a sign that more contractor involvement will be required by a 2-1 ratio (contractor to military).

- DoD is hosting an upcoming Industry Day specifically for federal government work in Afghanistan. The Afghan Tax issue will be discussed as will issues in Iraq. Please let us know of other issues that are affecting your company in Afghanistan and Iraq, and we will speak on your behalf. Again, this is one of the big reasons for the relevancy and attractiveness for your company to be a member of ISOA.

- We discussed holding a government-industry forum such that representatives from each group will meet and openly discuss issues that are difficult to resolve. Same as above, being an ISOA member will allow your company a literal seat at the table for this type of engagement.

- Normal US operations around the world will likely begin following the model of Operational Contractor Support due to the efficiency and success of this model for contingency contracting in the stability operations environment.

For those who haven't renewed your membership for 2017 or signed up as new members, please do it now, so you can enjoy the many benefits of being a member of this great organization. Please visit our website, www.stability-operations.org, to fill out the on-line membership application.

ISOA MEMBER INFORMATION

ISOA MEMBER IN THE SPOTLIGHT: SOS INTERNATIONAL LLC (SOSI)

Founded in 1989 to provide specialized analytical services to the U.S. law enforcement community, SOS International LLC (SOSi) is a private, family-owned and operated government services integrator that works principally in the defense and intelligence sectors. Over the past 25 years, the company has evolved into an international solutions provider with experience in more than 30 countries worldwide, providing intelligence, technology and project-management solutions to large, government and private-sector organizations, including the Department of Defense, Department of State, Department of Treasury, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security and Intelligence Community.

Last week, SOSi was selected as one of nine prime contractors by the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) on the Defense Language Interpretation and Translation Enterprise II (DLITE II) Contract. The potential 10-year, $10 billion contract was established to provide the full range of foreign language solutions to the Department of Defense (DoD) in support of forces engaged in humanitarian, peacekeeping, contingency and combat operations around the world. The DLITE program was first established by INSCOM in 1998 as the Worldwide Linguist Support Contract (WWLSC), and SOSi joined the program as a subcontractor to the first prime contractor, Bersoff Technology Group (BTG), in 2002. Having successfully provided INSCOM with high quality language support throughout the world for more than 14 consecutive years, SOSi is the longest-standing company providing support to the program still in existence today.

SOS's goal is to grow to more than $1 billion in annual revenue and reinforce its position as the premier middle-market mission support contractor in the defense and government services industry. In order to reach its objective, the company intends to both grow its core business and diversify into other areas. The DLITE contract demonstrates that even as it expands, SOSi remains true to its core.

With the growth of its mission support business in Iraq, the company carved out a substantial piece of the global military logistics, base operation and supply chain market. The key advantage that SOSi offers is that it is the largest private company competing for those contracts not owned by institutional investors, and therefore, has the ability to plan over longer-term horizons and offer greater flexibility and price competitiveness to its customers.

Last year, in one of the latest of a series of moves aimed at expanding its market opportunities and protecting itself against much of the downside risk associated with the overseas contingency operations business, SOSi acquired a company called New World Solutions; a firm that specializes in imagery science, cyber analytics, and advanced technology research and development. Through this acquisition, SOSi's customer base was expanded to include the NRO, NGA, and certain DoD intelligence components.

SOSi offers a broad range of solutions and services aimed at advancing the strategic and tactical capabilities of the warfighter. It is the premier middle-market mission support contractor - an ideal partner for both its government customers and its industry peers.

INDUSTRY EVENTS

INSURANCE WORKSHOP FOR US GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS, HOSTED BY CLEMENTS WORLDWIDE AND AIG

Clements Worldwide and AIG are hosting a breakfast workshop in Dubai to discuss insurance requirements for US Government overseas contracts. Expert speakers will provide valuable insight on how to limit exposures while contracting overseas and a detailed breakdown of critical, compulsory insurance requirements for companies bidding on US funded projects. This is also a networking forum for companies looking to explore bid and investment opportunities in this industry across the MENA region.

The event will occur on Tuesday, March 28, 2017 from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM at the Roda Al Murooj Downtown Dubai Hotel. This will be a very valuable workshop for ISOA members to attend. To register, please click here.

AGENDA:

8:30 AM

Registration & Networking Breakfast

9:00 AM

Keynote Speaker

9:30 AM

Panel I: Limiting exposures for overseas contractors

10:15 AM

Coffee & Networking Break

10:45 AM

Compulsory insurance requirements and case studies

11:30 AM

Closing remarks & post-event networking

CONTRACT AWARDS

Nine companies have won positions on a potential 10-year, $9.86 billion contract to provide foreign language services to the U.S. Army's Defense Language Interpretation Translation Enterprise program. The Army received 20 bids for the contract via the internet and will provide funds and performance locations upon issuance of individual task orders, the Defense Department said Friday. DoD noted work is scheduled to run through March 16, 2027.

CACI International has secured a potential $190 million task order to provide performance-based service management services to the Defense Department's Joint Service Provider. The company said Monday it will provide teleconferencing, service desk, information systems contingency, telecommunications and enterprise print management support for approximately 22,000 users through the JSP Information Technology Service Delivery Support Requirement program. The task order represents new work for CACI's enterprise IT segment. JSP provides IT products, services and customer support to help address DoD's mission and business requirements. The order was awarded through the General Services Administration's Alliant contract vehicle and has a performance period of 3.5 years.

INDUSTRY TRENDS

KEYW TO ACQUIRE SOTERA DEFENSE SOLUTIONS FOR $235 MILLION

Hanover-based government services firm KeyW Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: KEYW) announced Wednesday that it plans to acquire Herndon-based Sotera Defense Solutions for about $235 million. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2017 with Sotera remaining a wholly owned subsidiary, maintaining its key leadership. KeyW intends to finance the purchase with a mix of cash and a new $135 million, five-year term loan. The combined company is expected to generate about $535 million in revenue for 2017 - with about $310 million coming from KeyW and $225 million coming from Sotera - and total 2,100 employees. The acquisition will bring on 1,100 of those workers, with 80 percent holding a top secret clearance or higher. It will also bolster KeyW's footprint in the intelligence community, with the combined company securing a presence in 60 percent of three-letter agencies - up from KeyW's previous 25 percent figure. The KeyW portfolio will also tilt slightly in favor of more defense clients, with the company now serving 83 percent intelligence customers and 17 percent Pentagon and other customers. That split is up from 87 percent to 13 percent.

5 TECHNOLOGY PRIORITIES FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP

The past eight years has seen the federal government take major steps forward in different aspects of its technology use, but as we look today, government still lags far behind the private sector in how it utilizes modern technology. President Donald Trump's administration must not only continue this positive use of technology in government, but accelerate it. Let's look at five possible Trump administration initiatives to enhance government technology use.

REGULATION

CONGRESS ROLLS BACK FED CONTRACTING 'BLACKLISTING' RULE

The Senate has passed a Congressional Review Act resolution disapproving the Aug. 25, 2016, "Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces" federal acquisition regulation. Approving the CRA on March 7, the Senate now sends it for President Trump's signature in order to officially roll back the final rule, which has not yet gone into effect because of a Texas federal court's preliminary injunction. The CRA prevents future administrations from promulgating a similar rule. Introduced to the Senate by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the resolution blocks a regulation that has come to be known as the "blacklisting" rule and requires employers bidding on federal contracts to disclose violations and alleged violations of 14 different federal labor laws and similar state labor laws. Employers would also be required to determine a subcontractors' or suppliers' compliance with complex labor laws.

US HOUSE PASSES 2017 DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS TO UNCERTAIN PROSPECTS IN SENATE

The U.S. House voted 371-48 to pass an overdue $578 billion defense spending bill for fiscal 2017 on Wednesday, but the measure faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where Democrats will be unwilling to advance it on its own. The $578 billion spending bill passed when most of Capitol Hill was consumed with a politically charged debate over the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act, former President Barack Obama's health care law. Five Republicans and 43 Democrats voted against the measure. The full version of the House explanatory statement, which includes funding tables, can be found here.

NATIONAL SECURITY

The Trump administration, searching for money to build the president's planned multibillion-dollar border wall and crack down on illegal immigration, is weighing significant cuts to the Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Administration and other agencies focused on national security threats, according to a draft plan. The proposal, drawn up by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), also would slash the budget of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which provides disaster relief after hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters. The Coast Guard's $9.1 billion budget in 2017 would be cut 14 percent to about $7.8 billion, while the TSA and FEMA budgets would be reduced about 11 percent each to $4.5 billion and $3.6 billion, respectively. The cuts are proposed even as the planned budget for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees all of them, grows 6.4 percent to $43.8 billion, according to the plan. The plan puts the administration in the unusual position of trading spending on security programs for other security priorities at the southern border, raising questions among Republican lawmakers and homeland-security experts.

WHAT ISIS WILL DO AFTER MOSUL FALLS

The Islamic State is reeling. With its finances cut in half over the past six months, its media and information operations in tatters, and the offensive in western Mosul eating through its territory, the end of its so-called caliphate across the Middle East seems near. While a clear-cut victory is far from inevitable, at the current rate, it is conceivable that U.S. forces and their allies will defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria by killing and capturing its fighters, driving the group from key cities and villages in what formerly constituted its vaunted caliphate, and ultimately taking Raqqa, its stronghold. The focus, then, will shift to what ISIS's foreign fighters-who at their peak numbered tens of thousands from dozens of countries-will do next. There are several possibilities.